Upholstery-making machine and method



April 9, 1935. A. s. MITCHELL I UPHOLSTERY MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug.

III

A. s. MITCHELL 1,997,374

UPHOLSTEBY MAKING MA QHINE AND METHOD April 9, 1935.

Filed Aug. 2; 1935 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 9, 1935. A. s. MITCHELL UPHOLSTERY MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Aug. 2, 1953 7 Sheets-Sheet s "HUM 28 5156 lTIIf April 9, 1935:, A. s. MITCHELL UPHOLSTERY MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Aug. 2, 1 TSheets-Sheet 4 7 19. 6. 9

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- April 9, 1935. A. s. MITCHELL 1,997,374

- UPHOLSTERY MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Aug. 2, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 Zarzze ya April 9, 1935.

A. s. MITCHELL UPHOLSTERY MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD 7 Filed Aug. 2, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 April 9, 1935. A; s. MITCHELL UPHOLSTERY MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Aug. 2, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 7/, 7/17? vl/l/la I 5 Wu nu LVN: rm Illll/llllll llrllllvlria v w Patented Apr. 9, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UPHOIiSTERYr-MAKING MACHINE AND vMETHOD Allister S. Mitchell, Detroit, Mich., assignor to National Automotive Fibres,

Inc., Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application August 2, 1933, Serial N 683,381 30 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) duce a cushion which, whenstretchedlaterally,

will not tend to open up the seams between the stuffed pleats. In the cushion produced by the improved sewing mechanism, the cushion may be stretched laterally in hanging the cushion on the seat, or back, until the lining-fabricbecomes taut and lies in a plane surface. This can be done without tending to open the seams between the pleats. I

In the accompanying drawings, the invention is shown applied to a multipleater machine of the general construction illustrated and described in my pending United States application No. 572,691, filed November 2, 1931. In general, the present machine operates like the one shown in said application, but sewing mechanisms of improved type are employed.

In a machine of this character, a lining-fabric, a cover-fabric, and batts, or strips cf wadding, are fed through the machine. The lining-fabric is continuous. The cover-fabric either is continuous, or pre-cut covers are employed. 8

Where pre-cut covers are employed, preferably they are automatically positioned upon a bed comprising a pneumatic conveyor and longitudi- I nal ridge-bars extending across the conveyor; and forming-mechanism is employed for pleating the pre-cut covers, seriatim, over the ridge-bars, to form pleats and intervening seam-ridges, 'The pre-cut covers are successively gripped and carried forward by the conveyor and meet the liningfabric back of a cross-head. equipped with a forming-roll having circumferential grooves through which the seamridges pass. As shown in the application mentioned, the lining-fabric, in passing down under the forming-roll, is drawn over a series of lining-creasers which form seamportions progressively from the longitudinal center of the machine laterally in both directions.

In accordance with the present invention, each sewing-mechanism is equipped with a hooked sewing-needle and preferably with a cooperatinglooper-needle, the latter carrying a looperthread; and the bed of the machine, back of the cross-head, is equipped with a cross-member which supports a plurality of laterally adjustable pleat-entcring housings, in' which are mounted withdrawable sewing-thread carriers which extend forwardly to the vicinity of the to the movements sewing-mechanisms, the latter being arranged transversely across the machine and disposed in front of the cross-head, upon which the sewingheads are preferably swingingly mounted.

The sewing-thread carriers,; in the preferred arrangement, are in the form of withdrawable longitudinal bars adapted to guide and support the sewing-threads. The front end of each sewing-thread initially engages frictionally a device for holding the end-portion of the thread. The sewing-thread extends across a. recess in the thread-carrier, and is adapted to be engaged by a lateral hook with which the sewing-needle is equipped at its piercing end. The sewing-needle works through one thickness of lining and through a U-shaped seam-ridge of the coverfabric and operates to hook thethread and draw a loop thereof through the fabrics. The looperneedle is mounted so that it will work at the same side of the seam as that from which the sewingneedle enters the seam.

Preferably, a thread-deflector is mounted in the frontportion of the sewing-thread carrier and operates to depress the thread and cause it to positively engage the hook of the sewingneedle. The thread-deflector preferably is actuated by a striker carried by the sewing-head, this actuator being preferably independently actuated, but working in timed relation with respect of the sewing-needle and looper-needle. I

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate so much of a multipleater upholsterymaking machine of the character shown in the above-mentioned application asis necessary to a complete understanding of the present invention.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a broken vertical sectional view of a multiple'ater upholstery-making machine embodying the invention, this view showing the relation of one of the sewing-mechanisms and the corresponding sewing-thread carrier to the crosshead of the machine and the means for feeding and forming the fabrics and the means for feeding batts to the pleats as they are formed; Fig. 1 a broken detail view illustrating the manner in which the front ends of the ridge-barsare adjustably connected with a cross-member in the bed of the machine near the front end thereof Fig. 2, a sectional view similar to Fig. 1, on I an enlarged scale, omitting certain elements; Fig. 3, a broken longitudinal sectional view show,

ing one of the sewing-thread carriers and its housing, this view being shown on a still larger scale than in Fig. 2, this section being taken as indicated at line 3 of Fig. 12; Fig. 4, a broken plan view of the front end of one of the sewingthread carriers, illustrating the manner in which the front end of the thread is initially gripped by the carrier, it being understood that the front end of the thread is withdrawn and passes into the seam when the sewing operation starts; Fig. 4 a section taken as indicatedat line i of Fig. 4; Fig. 5, a broken vertical sectional view, looking rearwardly, the view being taken as indicated at line 5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6, a broken vertical sectional view taken as indicated at line 6 of Fig. 2, illustrating a sewing-mechanism; Fig. '7, a sectional view taken as indicated at line 'I-T of Fig. 6; Fig. 8, a broken horizontal sectional view taken as indicated at line 8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9, a sectional view taken as indicated at line 9 9 of Fig. 1, showing one of the llning-creasers and its relation to one of the sewing-thread carriers and the corresponding ridge-bar; Fig. 10, a section taken as indicated at line III-i of Fig. 1; Fig. 11, a transverse sectional view taken as indicated at line H of Fig. 13; Fig. 12, a broken plan view, partly in section, showing the front end-portion of a sewing-thread carrier; Fig. 13, a broken elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 12; Fig. 14, a broken vertical sectional view taken as indicated at line M of Fig. 12; Fig. 15, a similar view showing the thread-deflector in position to force the thread into engagement with the hook of the sewing-needle; Fig. 16, a transverse vertical sectional view taken as indicated at line l6 of Fig. 14; Fig. 17, a broken longitudinal vertical section taken as indicated at line I? of Fig. and showing the relation of a looperneedle with respectto the shoe, or seam-plate, of the corresponding sewing-head; Fig. 18, a front end view of one of the sewing-thread carriers; Fig. 19, abroken plan sectional view taken as indicated at line l9 of Fig. 2 and showing the looper needle about to enter a sewing-thread loop; Fig. 20, a similar view showing the hooked sewing-needle about to pass through a looperthread loop and then to be thrust through the seam for the purpose of drawing a fresh sewingthread loop through the seam and through the looper-thread loop; Fig. 21, a cross-sectional view of a cushion as it appears before the lining is drawn into a single'plane by transverse stretching, the section being taken as indicated at line 2| of Fig. 22; Fig. 21, a similar section showing the lining drawn taut by lateral stretch, without opening the seam; and Fig. 22, a broken plan view of a series of cushions before they have been severed from each other.

Describing in detail the preferred embodiment illustrated- A designates a main frame which is equipped near its front end with a vertically adjustable cross-head A, the frame being provided with a bed-extension A having longitudinal ridge-bars A over which the covers are fed; 13, a front suction conveyor mounted in the bed of the machine;

C, a series of sewing-mechanisms mounted on the cross-head A and laterally adjustable thereon of the adjustable cross-head A, said forming roll having spaced circumferential grooves through which the ridge-bars A extend; F, a series of lining-creasers adjustably mounted on a transverse bar F carried by the bed; G and G, a pair of front batt-feeding rollers; H and H, an auxiliary pair of batt-feeding rolls journaled in supports carried by the main frame, rotation of said auxiliary rolls being periodically arrested to cause severance of the batts; J, forming mechanism adapted to cooperate with the suction conveyor in depressing cover fabrics around the'ridges A to form seam-ridges and intervening pleat-fulnesses; K, cover fabrics which are fed into the machine; L, lining fabric which is fed down over the lining-'creasers F to the forming roll E; and M, batts which are fed by' the feed rolls G and G between the cover and lining fabrics prior to their being sewed by the sewing mechanism C.

It may be remarked here that the sewing-mechanisms employed are, so far as the actuation of the sewing-needle and looper-needle are concerned, quite similar to the sewing-mechanism illustrated and claimed in Ross and Ratley Patent 1,827,694 granted October 13, 1931. However, the member which carries the looper-needle extends across the seam-front of the sewing-head so as to position the looper-needle at the side of the seam, where the sewing-needle is normally located, as will appear from Fig. 5. Also, the sewing-head is equipped with a thread-deflector actuator, as illustrated in Figs. 68, this actuator being reciprocated vertically by an independent eccentric on the shaft which works the needles. The manner in which the thread-deflector is actuated will be understood from Figs. 14--15.

Each of the sewing mechanisms C is provided with a supporting bracket 25 which is adjustably secured to the cross-head A by means of a bolt 26. The head C is shown as comprising a lower cast main section 21 and an upper cast section 28, the two sections forming a divided bearing on the shaft C; and front and rear bearing-plates 29 and 30, respectively, secured to the front and rear side of the lower portion of the main cast section 21 by means of machine-screws 3i. The members 21 and 28 are fastened together by means of machine-screws 32 and enclose a gear 33 which is splined to the shaft C. The lower main section 21 forms a journal for a shaft 34 on which is keyed a gear 35, meshing with gear 33. Each of the sewing-heads provides a sewing-needle 36 and a looper-needle 31.

As best shown in Fig. 6, the sewing-needle is driven by the shaft 34, whose end portion is equipped with a collar 38 having'a crank-pin 39 which drives a connecting rod 40 which is connected to a vertical slide 4| by means of a pivotpin 42. A screw 36 holds the sewing-needle 36 in the actuating arm 43 whose base portion extends into a hollow portion of the main section and is pivotally connected to said section at 44. The actuating arm is further provided with a pair of trunnions 45 which are engaged by slots 46 in the slide 4|.

The looper-needle 31 is also driven from the.

shaft 34 in the manner described in the above patent. Briefly, the looper-needle actuator comprises a forked-lever 4'! (see Figs. 2, 6 and 7), whose upper end portion engages 'a block 48 which is journaled on an eccentric 49 provided on the shaft 34. The shaft 34 is further provided with an eccentric crank-pin 50 upon which is journaled a connecting rod 5!. The lower end of the rod is pivotally connected by a pin 52 to a dove-tail slide 53, held in position by the,

front and rear bearing-plates 29 and 30, and said in is journalled in the forked lever. The slide 53 acts as a cross-head, keepingthe movement of the pin vertical. The looper-needle 3! is arried by an extension arm 54 which is secured.

to the lower portion of the forked-lever 41 by machine-screws 55. 7

The thread-deflector actuator, as shown in Figs. 6-8, is also driven from theshaft3 4 by an eccentric 60 which drives a ring 6| havinga pivotal. connection at 62 with a slide 63. Slide 63, like that of a trombone, hastwo arms 63 which reciprocate in channels 53 provided in the slide 53. The lower end portion of the slide 63 is provided witha stud 64 to which is adjustably connected a striker 65, held in position by lock-nut 65*. Thus it will be understood that the striker 65 will reciprocate vertically in timed-relation to the looper-needleand sewing-needle."

The lower end of the main section is provided with a seam-guide plate 65. It will be noted that the looper-needle and sewing-needle both operate on the same side of the guide-plate' A looper-thread 10 is drawn from a suitablesource of supply, not shown, about atensioning device 1L.

and through a guide 12 carried by one of the screws 3|, to the looper-needle. The sewingthreads 15, however, are not threaded through the sewing-needles but are brought into sewing position within the pleats by means of sewingthread carriers 16.

The sewing-thread carriers 16 are frictionally held in forwardly extending pleat housings 11 which are adjustably suspended on the liningcreasers F by means of screws 18. The liningcreasers, as shown in Fig. .2, are adjustably secur'ed to the transverse bar F by means of adjusting bolts 19.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the forward ends of the sewing-thread carriers are bifurcated at 80 and have a cut-away portion at 8| in which the thread-defiectors may operate. The upper front portion of each of the carriers, in advance of the notch 8|, is provided with an oblique slot 82 and a small vertically extending resilient finger 83 is set in a narrow kerf cut in the metal below said slot and serving to releasably secure the front endportion of a thread which extends forwardly through the guides 85 provided on the sewing-thread carriersj'lB. It will be understood that the sewing-thread carriers may be grasped by their handle portion lfi and withdrawn from the housings to permit the sewing-threads to be attached. r

The front end portion of each housing 11 is provided with a stop 86 to limit the forward movement of the thread-carrier within the housing.

Also, it is desired to provide a slight vertical adjustment for the front end portion of the thread-carrier. This is accomplished, as shown in Figs. 3 and 11-13, by means of a rotatable member 81 which has an eccentric portion 88 adapted to engage the slot 80 of the threadcarrier. An adjusting screw 89 is provided to releasably hold the eccentric in an adjusted position.

The front end of ,the housing .11 is further .provided with a thread-deflector 99) in the form r Y of a bell-crank which is pivotally connected to the housing at 9| adjacent to an opening 92 provided in the housing to register with the notch 8| in the thre'ad-carrier. This deflector is best shown in Figs. 1216. The deflector is provided with a rearwardly. and downwardly extending arm 90 which, when depressed by the actuator 65, will bend the thread 15 around the needle 36. The lower arm 90 of the deflector is urged rearwardly by a ball 93 which is acted upon by a compression spring 94 adjustably held in position by means of a set-screw 95.

As shown in Figs. 12 and 13 a cloth-guard 96 is attached to the housing TI and has a cutaway portion 91 throughwhich the sewing-ne dle may operate. This guard is to prevent any of the material from being drawn out of the housing by the return movement of the needle.

It will be understood that the variousmechanisms, for forming and sewing the seam-portions of the fabrics, are laterally adjustable to permit the width of the pleats to be varied. As shown in Fig. 1 the longitudinal ridge-bars A are fastenedjto a supporting member 98 by means 0? screws 98 and the supporting member is adjustably secured to the main frame A by means of bolts 99. Also, as shown in Figs/l and 5, the

verticallyadjustable crosshead A supports di' vider shoes I00 and IOI which are laterally adjustable by means of bolts I02. The divider shoes, serve to press the fabrics down into sewing position as they are advanced by the conveyor B. The front portions of the longitudinal ridgeform a chain-stitch will be understood by referring to Figs. 19 and 20. The sewing-needle 36 is provided near its end portion with a'hook 36 which enables the needle, after piercing a double thickness, of the cover-fabric and a single thickness of the lining-fabric, to engage the sewingthread I5 (with the assistance of the threaddeflector 98) and draw the loop in the sewingthread to the position shown in Fig. 19. At this time, the looper-needle 31 moves rearwardly and carries the looper-thread 70 through the loop just formed in the sewing-thread. The seamguide plate 66 is provided with la shallow slot 55 in which the looper-needle lays the thread 13 just before starting its return movement. The

movement of the looper-needle is in the form of an ellipse and an opening is thus formed through which the sewing-needle passes when it next moves to pierce the fabric and again engage and form a loop in the sewing-thread. The looper-thread readily slips out of the groove 68 as the looper-needle continues its rearward move ment and a repetition of these operations provides the chain-stitch illustrated.

In Fig. 21 a cushion is shown in the form it assumes during the sewing operation. Fig. 21 is a similar section showing the normal condition of the cushion, in use, where the lining is drawn taut. by a lateral stretch. It will be seen that there is no tension placed upon the seams of the pleat but that all of the tensionis taken up by the lining fabric.

The foregoing detailed description'has been.

What'I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In means of the character set forth: fabricfeeding and forming means; thread-guiding means adapted to lie at one side of a seam and carry a sewing-thread; a hooked sewing-needle operatively mounted to work through the seam from the opposite side and draw a loop of the sewing-thread through the seam and through a looper-thread loop; and an operatively mounted co-acting looper-device serving to carry a looperthread loop through the drawn sewing-thread loop. a

2. Means of the character set forth in claim 1, equipped with means for deflecting the sewingthread .to insure engagement with the hook ofthe sewing-needle.

3. In a machine for manufacturing. Pleated upholstery: means for feeding fabrics and forming pleats and intervening seam-portions; a plurality of sewing-mechanisms equipped with hooked sewing-needles and cooperating looperdevices; and a plurality of sewing-thread carriers back of the sewing-mechanisms and extending forwardly into the pleats, from which the sewing-needles hook the sewing-threads and draw loops thereof through the seams, whereby chainstitches may be formed by the loops of the looper-threads and the loops of the sewing-threads.

4. A machine as specified in claim 3, in which the sewing-thread carriers have associated therewith means for positively deflecting the sewing threads into engagement'with the hooks of the sewing-needles.

5. 'A machine as specified in claim 3 in which the sewing-thread carriers are equipped with thread-deflectors and the sewing-mechanisms are equipped with means for actuating said de flectors.

6. A machine as specified in claim 3, in which the sewing-thread carriers are equipped with thread-deflectors and the sewing-mechanisms are equipped with driven devices movable with relation to the sewing-heads for actuating said defiectors.

7. In a machine for manufacturing pleated upholstery: means for feeding fabrics and forming pleats and intervening seam-portions; means for feeding batts to the pleats; a plurality of sewing-mechanisms equipped with hooked sewing-needles and cooperating looper-devices; and a plurality of sewing-thread carriers back of the sewing mechanisms and extending forwardly to the pleats, from which the sewing-needles hook the sewing-threads and draw loops thereof through the seams, said looper-devices being positioned to carry looperthread loops through the sewing-thread loops after the latter have been drawn through th seams.

8. A machine as specified in claim 7, in which the sewing mechanisms are mounted on a crosshead beneath which the fabrics pass, and the sewing-thread carriers are mounted on stationary supports back of said cross-head and extend forwardly beneath the cross-head to position to cooperate with the needles of the sewing-mechanisms.

' 9. A machine as specified in claim 7, in which the sewing-mechanisms are carried by a crosshead and the sewing-thread carriers are withdrawably mounted in forwardly extending housings carried by fixed supports disposed back of 13. A machine as specified in claim '7, in which thesewing-mechanisms are mounted ona crosshead and the sewing-thread carriers are mounted in pleat-entering supports equipped with movable thread-deflectors, and the sewing-mechanisms are equipped with means for actuating said defiectors.

14. Amachine as specified in claim 7, in which the sewing-thread carrier is an elongated member equipped with means for guiding a thread longitudinally of said member, said means being recessed at the point where the sewing-needle enters.

15. A machine as specified in claim 7 in which the sewing-thread carriers are withdrawably mounted in pleat-entering housings and means are provided for adjusting said sewing-thread carriers with relation to their housings.

16. A machine as specified in claim 7, in which the sewing-thread carriers are recessed to permit entry of thesewing-needles and are mounted in pleat-entering housings equipped with movably mounted thread-deflectors.

1'7. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a hooked sewing-needle, a unit adapted for cooperation with said hooked sewing-needle, said unit comprising an elongated pleat' entering housing and an elongated stationary sewing-thread carrier withdrawably mounted in said housing.

18. Means as specified in claim 1'7, in which the pleat-entering housing is equipped with a movably mounted thread-deflector.

19. Means as specified in claim 17, equipped with means for initially holding the front end of the sewing-thread, and permitting withdrawal thereof.

20. In a machine for manufacturing pleated upholstery: a bed equipped with spaced longitudinal ridges and with means for feeding a cover-fabric, said bed permitting the cover-fabric to be formed into pleat-fulnesses and intervening seam-ridges; a cross-head extending across said bed equipped at its front side with a plurality of sewing-mechanisms equipped with hooked sewing-needles; and sewing-thread carriers mounted back of said cross-head and lying adjacent the ridges of said bed, said carriers extending forwardly beneath the cross-head in position to cooperate with said sewing-needles.

21. A machine as specified in claim 20, in which the sewing-thread carriers are combined with and withdrawably mounted in longitudinal housings with which the machine is equipped adjacent the ridges of said bed.

'22. A machine as specified in claim 20, in which the sewing-thread carriers are combined with and mounted in longitudinal housings with which the machine is equipped adjacent the ridges of said bed, and in which divider-shoes are mounted in said machine and overlie 23. In an upholstery-making machine: means for feeding fabrics andforming pleats and intervening seamportions; and sewing-mechanisms for sewing the fabrics together at said seam-portions, the sewing-mechanism comprising a sewing-thread-carrier disposed at one side of the seam, a hook sewing-needle and a cooperating looper-thread-carrying looper-needle mounted at bined with a sewing-thread carrier and a housing therefor extending into the pleat, said housing being equipped with a movably mounted thread-deflector, and means associated with the sewing-mechanism for actuating said deflector.

27. In an upholstery-making machine; means for feeding fabrics and forming pleats and in-' tervening seam-portions; a sewing-thread carrier and a housing therefor extending into the.

pleat, said housing being equipped with a movably mounted thread-deflector; and sewingmechanism comprising a head, a sewing-needle slide, a loo-per-needle slide, and a thread-de- .on a common shaft.

29. The process of forming pleated upholstery, which comprises: forming fabrics into pleats and fiector actuator slide confined by channels provided in one of the first-mentioned slides.

28. Mechanism as specified in claim 27, in which all of the slides are actuated by eccentrics intervening seam-portions; holding sewingthreads in longitudinal position within the pleats adjacent the seam-portions; hooking successive portions of the sewing-threads anddrawing themas loops through the seam-portions of the fabrics; and forming looper-thread loops in a looper-thread at the outer side of the seam-portion and carrying them through the sewingthread loops and carrying the sewing-thread loops through the looper-thread loops.

30. In the manufacture of stuffed pleated upholstery, the steps which comprise: feeding a fabric and forming pleat-fulnesses and intervening seam-portions therein; feeding batts to the pleat-fulnesses; feeding a second fabric into position tocover the pleat-fulnesses; holding S6W ing-threads within the pleats adjacent the battsy hooking successive portions of the sewing-threads and drawing them as loops through the seamportions; and forming loops in looper-threads-at the outer side of the seam-portions and carrying the looper-thread loops through the sewingthread loops and carrying the sewing-thread loops through the looper-thread loops, thus form ing an external two-thread chain stitch.

ALLISTER S. MITCHELL. 

